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F. Howard Halderman

Wabash, IN | Distinguished Ag Alumni: 2012

F. Howard Halderman is the thirdgeneration
head of one of the largest
family-owned professional farm
management and real estate organizations
in the United States. His grandparents
established the business in 1930, his father
joined it in 1958, and Howard came on
board in 1988. Today, he oversees 40
full- and part-time staff members who
manage 625 farms in 22 states with a
market value of more than $1 billion.
The company also sells and acquires 150
properties and performs 500 appraisals
annually.
Halderman knows his way around a
farm and around the business. He worked
on his family’s grain and livestock farm in
Wabash, Indiana, and was active in FFA
and 4-H. He spent summer breaks from
college interning at the farm management
company. When he returned to the
business full time after graduation, his
father allowed him “to try things, to be
creative,” he says. “Not everything worked,
but having that latitude at a relatively young
age really helped in terms of growing the
business over time.”
Today, Halderman affects the agricultural
sector on many fronts. While his activities
vary every day, at its core the company
represents landowners. Typical farm
management services range from
determining optimum crop rotations and
tillage practices that comply with
government regulations to marketing the
commodities. The company’s work on
flexible leasing arrangements has
transformed tenant-landlord relationships
into profitable risk-sharing ventures with
long-term stability.
He is also involved in the real estate side
of the business and in setting strategic
direction for the company’s growth.
Expanding services are natural offshoots of
his grandfather’s founding focus: “To do
for your farm what you would do if you
had the time and the experience.”
Halderman and his wife Kari have three
children, and he supports many of their
activities, especially coaching sports. Like
the business, his commitment to his
profession and community is something he
both inherited and embraces: “It’s a belief
we’ve always had as a family — giving back.”